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Warmatrix

War Matrix - Industry

Geopolitical Race 1830 CE - 1880 CE, Weapons and technology

River Rouge Plant
River Rouge Plant
The Industrial Revolution gave the world industry, which had an enormous impact on warfare. Industry produced both weapons and means to support combat in many ways.
The shift from agriculture to industry boosted population growth and allowed states to field armies that were much larger than before. Machines, steam power and gradual standardization of components made sure that enough weapons could be produced to equip all the new soldiers.
Logistics were vastly improved. Roads and railroads rushed troops to the fron faster than anytime before, though manoeuver on the battlefield remained limited to walking and riding horses for a while. Food preservation techniques like canned food, margarine and milk powder partially freed armies from scavenging for food, so they could spend more of their time actually fighting and remain in the field longer. Antibiotics protected against tropical diseases, enabling European armies to invade the interior of the African continent.
War-specific industry produced not only many weapons, but also larger, heavier and deadlier ones. Over time, transport vehicles evolved into fighting verhicles like tanks and airplanes. These are currently further developing into semi to fully autonomous weapons like drones, eliminating the human factor from combat.
After its conception industry became so important to both army and civilian life that it not only became an enabler of warfare, but also its target. Where armies had fought for loot or land before, they now fought for industrial resources and industrial factories. This new type of advanced warfare could only be waged by industrialized states, who subjugated all others or forced them to industrialize too. Warfare became more prolonged and intense, affecting civilians to a higher degree than before.